Appendix A: Reference Tables
Reference Tables
International System of Units (SI)
Some Metric/SI Units
of Measurement
Quantity
Name
Symbol
length
mass
volume
temperature
meter
kilogram
liter
kelvin*
m
kg
l
K
Examples Using the Meter
Name
Symbol
Equivalent
kilometer
meter
centimeter
millimeter
km
m
cm
mm
1000 m
1m
0.01 m
0.001 m
Metric System Prefixes
Prefix
Symbol
Multiples
kilohectodeka-
k
h
da
1000
100
10
deci-
d
1
0.1 ᎏᎏ
10
centi-
c
milli-
m
Metric Conversion Table
Length
1 m ⫽ 39.37 in.
1 m ⫽ 3.280 ft
1 m ⫽ 1.093 yd
1 m ⫽ 0.00062 mi
1 cm ⫽ 0.393 in.
1 km ⫽ 0.62 mi
1 inch (in.) ⫽ 0.0254 m or 2.54 cm
1 foot (ft) ⫽ 0.3048 m or 30.48 cm
1 yard (yd) ⫽ 0.9144 m or 91.44 cm
1 mile (mi) ⫽ 1609 m or 1.609 km
Area
1 square meter (m2) ⫽ 1550.0 in.2
1 m2 ⫽ 10.76 ft2
1 m2 ⫽ 1.19 yd2
1 square inch (in.2) ⫽ 6.452 cm2
1 sq. foot (ft2) ⫽ 0.0929 m2 or 929 cm2
1 sq. yard (yd2) ⫽ 0.8361 m2 or 8361 cm2
1 sq. mile (mi2) ⫽ 259 km2
Volume
1 liter (L) ⫽ 1.06 qt
1 L ⫽ 33.9 fluid ounces (oz)
1 quart (qt) ⫽ 0.95 L
1 cubic inch (in.3) ⫽ 16.38 cm3
Mass
1 kg ⫽ 2.204 lb
1 kg ⫽ 35.27 ounces (oz)
1 pound (lb) ⫽ 0.4536 kg
1 lb ⫽ 453.6 g
Temperature *
* Even though kelvin is the SI base for temperature, the unit “degree Celsius”
is most often used in your study of Earth system science. The scale at the
right shows the relationship between temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F),
degrees Celsius (°C), and kelvin (K).
5
K ⫽ °C ⫹ 273
°C ⫽ ᎏᎏ ⭈ (°F ⫺ 32)
9
0°C or 32°F ⫽ freezing point of water
100°C or 212°F ⫽ boiling point of water
37°C or 98.6°F ⫽ normal human body temperature
20°C or 68°F ⫽ room temperature
696
Appendix A
冢 冣
1
0.01 冢ᎏᎏ冣
100
1
0.001 冢ᎏᎏ冣
1000
Temperature